For those of us in the northern part of the world, north of the equator, it’s now early August, and although the temperature remains warm, the daylight grows shorter every day. Another season is on its way. Ah, late summer!
In spite of the warmest summer ever…in the history of man, there have been quite a few fall-like days and nights lately. Very nice for the “dog days”.
Another season? I have no idea what you guys are talking about.
Aloha,
Clark
Actually, it’s been the coolest, rainiest summer in Texas history. the snowiest in South Africa’s history and so on, what you say may be true in Europe but you need to exclude Italy, Greenland and Iceland. And this relates to flutes in …
Wettest in British records too… Was very mild early - my central heating went off in early March and has only been on for one evening since! It stayed mild but cool through the months of seemingly incessant rain after April’s mini heat-wave. No late frosts, so a bountiful fruit harvest in prospect, (good for my favourite tipple, real cider), but everything else has suffered. But yes, although we are now belatedly having a little taste of summer here, there is indeed already an autumnal tinge to things. The dryer weather has come just in time to at least partially rescue the British grain harvest.
Flute relevance? I had a glorious day at the Welsh National Eisteddfod yesterday playing my R&R flute and my Rudall Carte piccolo and my Jon Swayne whistle with CLERA, the Welsh Traditional Instrument Society (http://www.clera.org/saesneg/news.htm), and the site was not a bog (despite being on a river flood plain) unlike many other festivals this year.
It sucks in Kentucky.
Dang, yer elekwint, ain’tcha. 
Just returned to St. Louis.
It’s 103 or so day after day.
The power went off yesterday for several
square blocks, including ours.
I try not to go outside.
Just hot. Very, very, hot. (even ranting requires too much effort)
Some bright or sunny spells this afternoon … Clearer weather
will spread from the Atlantic this evening and early tonight.
A mild day with highest temperatures 17 to 20 degrees Celsius
(63º-68º F).
This group is having an ‘August Flute Circle’ meeting. We can thank them for helping us keep this thread on track.
http://www.cascadiaflutecircle.org/announcements.html
BTW, it’s 103F in North Carolina ---- one of those days when I’m thankful for my office job.
Well we’re having a pretty standard August here. Forecast for the next five days shows highs in the mid 90’s and lows in the mid 70’s. Normally it’s that way from the last part of April until up into September or October. This year has been a real treat.
It has been so hot here in Indianapolis, as well. My tomatoes seem to thrive on the heat, and I have one monster tomato at a pound and a half.
Word of caution about polymer flutes and very hot weather. I just got an email yesterday from a customer in Michigan. He left one of my flutes in the car throughout the day, and when he later tried to play it, the tenon joints were loose and it didn’t play well. I haven’t heard whether he was able to get it going again, or not. Anyway, folks, don’t leave your flutes in the car during these hot summer days. They may never be the same again.
Leave your tomatoes in the car.
Weather in Germany really sucks. Thunderstorms and heavy rain for days, together with warm and humid climate. My reeds keep on squeaking. Gah!
It has been a very mild summer here in Los Angeles, so I don’t know where you are getting your stats from, Al Gore? 
The newses said “hottest summer since the 1930’s”, I think man was here before 1930…
It was 100+° a couple days ago, where I am. Thank goodness flutes don’t require heavy physical effort to play. I sat outside under a porch, with an insulated bottle of icewater and played/read for about 4 hours in the afternoon - No problem. It was better than being indoors, in the AC, when someone else is there watching TV and insisting on not muting the commercials.
A lot of my older friends who were in WWII are dieing off. I have to pipe a tattoo at their funeral: “Pass In Review”, “Amazing Grace”, and “Taps” on the Highland bagpipes. It has been 95 degrees F and humidity 90%. That is not common in West Virginia, as the folks who went to the Augusta Irish Week will atest to. (Do any of you know why they call that Augusta?) The old codgers come out to bury their dead. I look for one to keel over but none do. I am the one who is miserable with the itchy wool kilt. I’ve run a soccer camp this week. I start by piping the 6 year olds in line behind me with a ball at their feet with either an M&E flute, a whistle, or the Highland pipes. The 6 year olds would go until they had heat stroke, I have to give them a water break every 10 minutes. I have to worry about their parents suing me. I do not have to worry about the old codgers or their parents suing me.
Nelson
I wrote:
In spite of the warmest summer ever…in the history of man, there have been quite a few fall-like days and nights lately. Very nice for the “dog days”.
I was being facetious. I figured that “…in the history of man” was a dead givaway.